Man accused of kidnapping 13-year-old girl in Kenner turns himself in

Disclaimer: All persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

KENNER, La. ( WGNO ) — A man accused of kidnapping and raping a teenage girl on Tuesday, Sept. 3, is in the custody of the Kenner Police Department after reportedly turning himself in.

According to the KPD, officers received a report of a 13-year-old girl who had allegedly been kidnapped from the Veterans Heights subdivision.

“Anybody that uses a knife to overpower a 13-year-old girl and rape them and then flees, that’s a coward,” said Kenner Police Chief Keith Conley.

Kenner police launched a search for 23-year-old Diego Rodriguez-Salvador, who is accused of kidnapping and raping a 13-year-old in Kenner Tuesday night.

“He gained her confidence as a friend of the relative and got her into his vehicle on the pretense of going to the store. When he wasn’t going in the proper direction, she questioned him about it. That’s when he pulled the knife,” said Conley.

Later, taking her to his trailer along Malinda Court in Kenner, where the girl says he raped her and took her back home. KPD officials said officers searched Rodriguez-Salvador’s home but did not find him.

One nearby neighbor says as a father, the news is heartbreaking, especially with so many kids in their neighborhood.

“The kids stay out here all day. They run and play all through the night,” said the neighbor.

Conley says Rodriguez-Salvador is an undocumented immigrant from Honduras who was a friend of the victim’s brother. He explains that even though he frequents barbershops in the area, he is like a ghost.

“It’s challenging to identify them through any of our databases. They used the hyphen game with the last names, they’ll switch their names around. Once we get them in the database, none of them have identification,” said Conley.

The reality of the situation saddens him that sometimes these crimes go unreported.

“With that community, you wonder how many of those crimes go unreported. We have been trying to gain trust and form relationships with these communities so they can report these crimes. That’s where a group like the child advocate group will come into play,” said Conley.

Vowing to bring justice to the 13-year-old girl.

“As a father, it saddens me but as a police chief, it makes me furious. We are going to bring him to justice. It’s not going to be long before he’s up in an interview room crying his eyes out,” said Conley.

KPD officers said Rodriguez-Salvador was wanted on charges of second-degree kidnapping and second-degree rape.

Around 5:30 p.m., KPD officials confirmed to WGNO that Rodriguez-Salvador was taken into custody after surrendering to police.

According to the Kenner police, the girl is safe and in the custody of her mother.

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